Landmark Masonic Building for Sale

Long Beach historians know it as a seven-story architectural treasure where members of an elite men’s club would file past Greek columns 50 feet high to dine in themed banquet halls and enjoy live theater.

But over time, the former Masonic temple known as Morgan Hall deteriorated into an indoor junkyard, its marbled halls overrun with stray dogs and, finally, transients.

Now it’s up for sale.

A pair of real estate investors who took over the downtown building when its reclusive former owner died in 1995 had hoped to renovate the nearly 100,000-square-foot structure for conversion into a combination film set and storage facility. But several obstacles have blocked their plans.

The site has no room for parking. Its elevators can’t be operated until earthquake repairs are performed. And although it has been designated a historical landmark by the City Council, practical uses for the 70-year-old Greek Revival building are limited by its residential zoning.

As much as investor Don Maher and his partner Todd Nolette like the place, they see few options beyond putting it on the market. In the meantime, however, they plan to continue renting it out to television film crews.

“We would rather hold on to the building,” he said, despite a couple of recent offers to buy the structure in the 800 block of Locust Avenue. “It has a lot of potential.”